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| Hong Kong Leader Says She Won’t Back Down on Bill That Provoked Huge Protest | Hong Kong Leader Says She Won’t Back Down on Bill That Provoked Huge Protest |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, said Monday she had no intention of withdrawing contentious legislation that would allow extraditions to mainland China, despite hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating against it the day before. | HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, said Monday she had no intention of withdrawing contentious legislation that would allow extraditions to mainland China, despite hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating against it the day before. |
| “We were doing it, and we are still doing it, out of our clear conscience, and our commitment to Hong Kong,” Ms. Lam told reporters in her first remarks about the demonstration. | “We were doing it, and we are still doing it, out of our clear conscience, and our commitment to Hong Kong,” Ms. Lam told reporters in her first remarks about the demonstration. |
| The protest on Sunday was one of the largest in Hong Kong’s history, drawing a mass of people who filled the streets for more than a mile in a striking display of defiance against Beijing’s rule over the semiautonomous territory. Residents marched for hours, chanting “No China extradition” and slogans calling for Ms. Lam to resign, a backlash that underscored the rising anxiety and frustration many feel at the erosion of liberties in Hong Kong. | The protest on Sunday was one of the largest in Hong Kong’s history, drawing a mass of people who filled the streets for more than a mile in a striking display of defiance against Beijing’s rule over the semiautonomous territory. Residents marched for hours, chanting “No China extradition” and slogans calling for Ms. Lam to resign, a backlash that underscored the rising anxiety and frustration many feel at the erosion of liberties in Hong Kong. |
| [The Hong Kong protests explained.] | |
| Ms. Lam sought to distance her government’s proposal from the ruling Communist Party in Beijing that appointed her to lead the city’s government. | Ms. Lam sought to distance her government’s proposal from the ruling Communist Party in Beijing that appointed her to lead the city’s government. |
| “I have not received any instruction or mandate from Beijing to do this bill,” she said. | “I have not received any instruction or mandate from Beijing to do this bill,” she said. |
| Despite Ms. Lam’s refusal to back down, organizers of the Sunday protest indicated they were not yet giving up and that they planned to continue demonstrations this week. They have also endorsed calls for labor strikes on Wednesday, when Hong Kong’s legislature will resume consideration of the bill. A vote on the measure is expected on June 27, but opposition politicians say they fear the pro-Beijing camp could speed up the process. | Despite Ms. Lam’s refusal to back down, organizers of the Sunday protest indicated they were not yet giving up and that they planned to continue demonstrations this week. They have also endorsed calls for labor strikes on Wednesday, when Hong Kong’s legislature will resume consideration of the bill. A vote on the measure is expected on June 27, but opposition politicians say they fear the pro-Beijing camp could speed up the process. |
| The legislation would allow case-based extraditions to jurisdictions with which Hong Kong does not have long-term agreements. It has set off widespread fears that by allowing criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China, the bill would accelerate Beijing’s growing influence over Hong Kong and leave locals subject to the whims of the Chinese authorities. | The legislation would allow case-based extraditions to jurisdictions with which Hong Kong does not have long-term agreements. It has set off widespread fears that by allowing criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China, the bill would accelerate Beijing’s growing influence over Hong Kong and leave locals subject to the whims of the Chinese authorities. |
| The protest on Sunday was mostly peaceful, but after midnight, dozens of remaining demonstrators attempted to occupy areas around the legislature and clashed with police officers who tried to remove them. | The protest on Sunday was mostly peaceful, but after midnight, dozens of remaining demonstrators attempted to occupy areas around the legislature and clashed with police officers who tried to remove them. |
| Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp blamed Ms. Lam for the violence, saying that the group of largely young protesters had escalated their protest out of frustration with a government statement at 11 p.m. that rejected calls to withdraw the bill. | Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp blamed Ms. Lam for the violence, saying that the group of largely young protesters had escalated their protest out of frustration with a government statement at 11 p.m. that rejected calls to withdraw the bill. |
| The Hong Kong police appeared determined to prevent a repeat of 2014, when they responded to pro-democracy protesters by firing several canisters of tear gas, setting off widespread anger and sit-in protests on city streets that lasted nearly three months. | The Hong Kong police appeared determined to prevent a repeat of 2014, when they responded to pro-democracy protesters by firing several canisters of tear gas, setting off widespread anger and sit-in protests on city streets that lasted nearly three months. |
| Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997, under a “one country, two systems” model that allows it to maintain its own local institutions, including a judicial system considered to be far more independent than that of mainland China, where courts operate under the control of the ruling Communist Party. | Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997, under a “one country, two systems” model that allows it to maintain its own local institutions, including a judicial system considered to be far more independent than that of mainland China, where courts operate under the control of the ruling Communist Party. |
| Ms. Lam, who took office in 2017, has often discussed her twin obligations to both Beijing and Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s chief executive is elected by a committee of 1,200 members, a largely pro-establishment group that chooses the candidate endorsed by China’s central government. | Ms. Lam, who took office in 2017, has often discussed her twin obligations to both Beijing and Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s chief executive is elected by a committee of 1,200 members, a largely pro-establishment group that chooses the candidate endorsed by China’s central government. |
| China’s central government backs the extradition legislation, but the protests could dent Ms. Lam’s standing with Beijing, analysts said. Still, if she weathers the protests she could secure a second term, something no other Hong Kong chief executive has achieved. | China’s central government backs the extradition legislation, but the protests could dent Ms. Lam’s standing with Beijing, analysts said. Still, if she weathers the protests she could secure a second term, something no other Hong Kong chief executive has achieved. |
| “I would say that Carrie Lam’s persistence has a lot to do with prioritizing Beijing’s interest over the local population’s,” said Mathew Wong, a political science professor at the Education University of Hong Kong. “If she loses Beijing’s trust her career is over, but if she could ride out the dissatisfaction she would have achieved something in Beijing’s eyes.” | “I would say that Carrie Lam’s persistence has a lot to do with prioritizing Beijing’s interest over the local population’s,” said Mathew Wong, a political science professor at the Education University of Hong Kong. “If she loses Beijing’s trust her career is over, but if she could ride out the dissatisfaction she would have achieved something in Beijing’s eyes.” |